11/15/15

Carrot Yogurt and Calendula—With a Recipe

Please note this is Carrot Yogurt and Calendula, not Carrot, Yogurt and Calendula. Although my plan was Carrot, Yogurt and Calendula when I went into Westerly Market for carrots and yogurt.But who knew Blue Hill made yogurt with carrots? I nearly squealed with glee when I saw the container. I only had to buy one item and I didn't have to puree the carrots. Bonus: Blue Hill uses honey instead of sugar.

Frozen!

I sprinted home and opened the containers. Not as deep orange as I'd get if I'd used pureed carrots, but what the heck. It was still a pretty color. Would it survive the lye? Only one way to find out. I popped the containers into the freezer and began weighing out my oils and prepping my colorants.I used brick red and black oxide pigments from Brambleberry and powdered calendula from my plot in The Hell's Kitchen Community Garden. Each mixed into a little almond oil. Calendula is truly stingy with its color. There's hardly any difference between the portion I did with it and the straight carrot yogurt base. About as much contrast as my Ghost Swirl. But I love what calendula does to my skin.Here's what I used for 3 pounds of soap at 5% superfat:

3 oz. castor oil12 oz. olive oil12 oz. coconut oil15 oz. (sustainable) palm oil6 oz. sunflower oil16 oz. carrot yogurt (frozen)6.79 oz. lye1.5 oz essential oils (I used a blend of orange 10 fold, anise, may chang and yuzu.)I slowly added the lye while the container sat in an ice bath and only heated the palm oil and coconut oil. Just enough for them to melt, then added the rest of the oils so everything cooled down to room temperature. You can see the I ended up with a beautiful yellow. Doesn't look like carrots, but I'm super happy with it.Besides carrot, Blue Hill also makes butternut squash, beet and tomato yogurt that might make their way into future batches. Check out their recipes (for those of you who cook) for dishes like Sweet Potato Cheesecake and Tomato, Watermelon and Yogurt Gazpacho.And who knows? Maybe my recipe for Carrot Yogurt Calendula Soap will be there someday.